The Southern Utah University gymnastics team will travel to compete in a quad meet featuring the University of Washington, Sacramento State University and Brigham Young University on Friday, March 14, at 7 p.m. Coming off a huge win against No. 23 Penn State University, the Flippin’ Birds look to impress in a very competitive environment.
Southern Utah
SUU currently sits as the No. 33-ranked team in the nation. They are No. 32 in vault, No. 16 in bars, No. 29 in beam and No. 44 in floor.
In their last meet, Southern Utah set a new school and conference record with their 49.475-point performance on bars. This included an incredible showing from sophomore Trista Goodman, who scored a career-high 9.950.
Additional contributors for the Flippin’ Birds this year have been all-around freshman Niya Randolph, freshman Brinlee Christensen and junior Ellie Cacciola. Randolph was named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Gymnast of the Week for the sixth time last week, Christensen was named MSPF Freshman of the Week and Cacciola was given the MSPF Specialist of the Week award.
Washington
The Washington GymDawgs hold the No. 27 rank in the nation and will be tough opponents for Southern Utah. They rank No. 33 in vault, No. 23 in bars, No. 17 in beam and No. 38 in floor.
Washington reached their second-highest team score of the season in their last meet against Oregon State with a 196.950. Lana Navarro, who headed this performance, tied her career high on the vault and floor. Achieving this feat earned her the Pac-12 Coaches’ Choice of the Week.
The GymDawgs are on a roll as of late. In their last three meets, they have totaled their highest team scores of the season and set season-high scores across every event.
Sacramento State
The Sacramento State Hornets are placed at No. 56 in national rankings. They rank No. 56 in vault, No. 55 in beam, No. 59 in floor and No. 54 in bars.
The Hornets won their last meet against the University of Alaska Anchorage, outscoring them 195.150-191.500. All-around sophomore Sarah Lutrel has been the star for this time. She has improved her career highs all year and has been awarded two MSPF Gymnast of the Week awards this season.
When these two teams last faced off, Southern Utah took home the win with a score of 196.250-195.225, so the Flippin’ Birds will be looking to repeat history.
BYU
The BYU Cougars sit right behind Southern Utah, ranked No. 34 in the NCAA. They rank No. 30 in bars, No. 31 in vault, No. 28 in beam and No. 4 in floor.
The Cougars are coming off a 197.125-196.450 loss to No. 15 Ohio State University. Despite the loss, they had their best beam performance of the season with a score of 49.425, and many gymnasts put up career bests. One of those gymnasts was freshman Brynlee Anderson, who scored a 9.975 on the beam, one of six BYU athletes to ever achieve that score. Another great performance from the previous meet was senior Sydney Benson, who scored a 9.850 on the vault.
Last time the Cougars and Thunderbirds competed against each other, Southern Utah won in a tough battle. Both teams scored over 197 and set a handful of team highs. To gain another win over BYU, the Thunderbirds need to be on top of their game.
Author: Jacob McQueary
Photographer: Anden Garfield
Editor: Anden Garfield
sports@suunews.net
